Avery Moody releases a late-season sailfish off Jupiter
By Danny Moody
There is nothing like the sight of a sailfish taking flight after a perfect hookset. The sound of the screaming reel is pure exhilaration on deck. For me, that feeling is exponentially greater when I experience it while watching my 16-year-old daughter, Avery Moody, skillfully drop back on that fish and reel tight on the snelled circle hook.
On a recent spring day, I was reminded what it means to be a proud father of a young lady in love with fishing and our beautiful Florida lifestyle.
She set her alarm for 4:30 a.m. Avery likes to catch fish with her own goggle eyes, and by 6 a.m. the baitwell had two dozen. The ocean was beautiful that morning, with a rolling ground swell from the north and light breeze. We pointed the bow east and ran. Dolphin was on her mind, but she knew the shallow bite was slow. At 28 miles out, we found our target water temp and were rewarded with a pair of ’phins for the dinner table. Putting those two fish in the boat made her day.
As a dad, I was indifferent about the dolphin. My reward was knowing I had hours of uninterrupted, one-on-one time with my oldest daughter. Boys, lures, school, knots, church youth group, water temp, friends, and trying to figure out what that rattle is on the T-Top… it was all discussed.
About 3 p.m., we were back nearshore setting up a drift 4 miles out of Jupiter Inlet on the ledge. The bridled baits were lively, and we knew something would find them. Avery took a break from monitoring her Shimano Baitrunner to tie a big popper on her plugging rod and cast to small bonita (little tunny) that were crashing surface baits. Mid-knot, she hears her Baitrunner starting to sing. I advise, “Hey Avery, you have a bite, better setup.” She replies, “Hang on dad, let me finish tying this lure.”
What I thought was procrastination was her intentional delay. We fish live bait on snelled circle hooks, and she knows to wait before engaging the reel. She finally picked up the rod, pointed straight at the outgoing line and reeled tight. A lit sailfish went airborne. She fired off some quick commands to me for line clearing, and the chase ensued.
This past season, I have gone from yelling instructions at her to her yelling instructions at me!
After a spectacular fight, the fish was brought boat-side, and Avery revived the sail for release. It was a flood of emotions for each of us after such a perfect day on the water.
Avery is a fifth-generation Floridian who lives on the same Loxahatchee River property her great, great grandmother purchased in the 1920s. Avery and her 14-year-old sister Emily are homeschooled by my wife Carrie. When she is not offshore, Avery is fishing the river. Dock light snook fishing on light spin and fly are her favorites. She loves the south Florida environment, promoting conservation, and outwardly living what it means to be a Florida Girl.